Small Steps
by vespertine dreams
Summary: Luke and Clyde explore their changing relationship. Slash- Clyde/Luke. Rating raised for chapter 3/warning for sexual content.
1. Small Steps

Notes- Originally written for Porn Battle XI on Livejoural for prompt: Sarah Jane adventures, Clyde/Luke, change. Originally a one shot for the prompt, it will continue in series format but posted as chapters to keep it together.

In my mind, they're both 17 in this.

* * *

Small steps

It was the start of the holidays and Luke had arrived home from university that morning. He knew that his mum had a celebration planned for tonight, a meal to which she had invited Clyde and Rani and her parents. She was so glad to have him home again, wanting to hear all about what he had been doing. Luke felt guilty that the only thing he wanted to do now that he was home, was see Clyde.

The others didn't know about their fledgling relationship, only really acknowledged a month before when Clyde had come to visit him at the university. He hadn't told his mum yet, hadn't even told her that his interests ran more toward boys than girls, not that he'd really had much experience with either sex. Now, as she made dinner and asked all about his classes, Luke pushed thoughts of Clyde aside and let her have her reunion.

That night, once the dishes had been cleared away and everyone had gone home, Luke went up to bed. He was almost asleep when his phone jingled to alert him of a message.

'OPEN THE WINDOW'

Luke got out of bed and unlatched the window just in time for Clyde to scramble through after climbing up the tree outside.

"What are you doing?" he asked, amused.

Clyde grinned. "What does it look like? I'm breaking into your bedroom to seduce you."

Luke just rolled his eyes. "It's hardly breaking in if you text me and ask me to open the window for you."

"It's the thought that counts," Clyde insisted. "We hardly got to see each other earlier and I wanted to welcome you home," he said, stepping into Luke's space and snaking an arm around his waist.

Pulling Luke to him, Clyde leaned in for a kiss, delighted when Luke responded instantly, parting his lips in invitation. They remained pressed together, mouths fused, tongues tussling until Luke shivered.

Drawing away to look at him, Clyde realised that Luke was still only wearing the t-shirt and shorts he slept in, warm enough for bed but not outside of it. He manoeuvred Luke toward the bed, urging him to get back in, but Luke hesitated.

"Are you staying?"

They had slept at each other's houses many times before- they had been best mates for years, spending most of their time together- but this was different. Now it was something more than that.

"I don't mean… Well, I do- want to, I mean- but not yet-"

Clyde smiled, deciding to give Luke a break and stop him before he got even more tongue-tied.

"I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet either," he said, shedding his boots and jacket and stripping down to his boxers. As he got settled under the covers, facing Luke, the other young man reached out to him, shuffling closer until they lay flush against each other.

Luke's mouth claimed his once more, the kiss passionate but with the urgency of earlier gone. Now they could just enjoy each other. Clyde's arms wrapped around Luke once more, moving them as one until he was almost pinned beneath Luke. He couldn't stop himself from raising his hips and rubbing against Luke's body, hearing the sharp intake of breath from Luke as he did so.

When they finally parted, breathless, Luke realised he was lying atop Clyde and smiled self-consciously, moving to the side so that he lay beside Clyde once more. He slipped one arm over Clyde's chest, settling in comfortably as his eyes began to close. It had been a long day, what with the trip home and how late it was now. Clyde noticed, tracing his index finger lightly down Luke's cheek.

"Go to sleep," he said. "I'm not going anywhere."

Luke cuddled in closer and let himself drift off, knowing that Clyde would still be there when he woke up.

*.*.*

End


	2. The Talk

The Talk

Luke paced across the kitchen for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past few minutes. He wasn't used to this feeling, being nervous; he could face down aliens and move away from all his friends to go to University but this? This was ten times worse.

He was determined to go through with it, but that didn't stop him worrying about it.

"Luke, calm down. You don't have to do it."

Clyde's hand on his arm stopped him in mid-pace. Luke paused, turning to his boyfriend and nodding.

"Yes, I do."

X~x~x~x~x

When Sarah-Jane arrived home that day she found Luke sitting in the living room, on the sofa. He was fidgeting, his foot tapping on the floor. When he saw her, he jumped to his feet.

"Luke, are you alright?"

She put her bag and car keys down and came over to him, looking concerned.

"I have something to tell you," he said, sitting back down.

Sarah-Jane frowned. "Is this a good something or a bad something? Are you having trouble at University?" He shook his head. "You can tell anything, you know that, don't you?"

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, silently running over the words he'd been rehearsing for the past few days.

"Mum, you know how you keep asking me if I've met anyone at University?" She asked him at least once every time she spoke to him if he'd found a girl he liked, or if he'd had a date for the University social events. "Well, I have."

Sarah-Jane's face lit up in a wide smile. "That's wonderful, Luke! So, tell me all about her."

"It's not… Mum, I haven't been seeing a girl," he said softly. "It's Clyde."

The smile remained frozen on her face as she stared at him in surprise. Her mouth opened a few times as though she intended to say something but the words died on her lips and she closed them again. As the minutes passed, Luke grew more and more uneasy.

"Mum? Are you disappointed in me? Say something, please."

His voice, barely more than a whisper, seemed to shake her from her thoughts and she reached out to pull him into a crushing embrace.

"Oh, Luke, I could never be disappointed in you, especially not for something like this," she said. "I am so sorry if I made you think that! You just surprised me, that's all."

He felt as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "You're not mad?"

"No, love." He let her hug him for a few moments longer before pulling back from her arms. Sarah-Jane smiled. "I'm glad you've found someone who makes you happy," she said. "And Clyde is a decent young man. He is being good to you, isn't he? He's not pushing you into anything?"

"Mum…"

She laughed. "I know, I know; you're old enough to make the right decisions and I trust you to do that." A thought struck her then. "How long have you two been seeing each other?"

Luke could almost see the thoughts as they crossed through her mind, thinking of the nights that Clyde had stayed over in the past, wondering just how far this had gone. She might be fine with it, even be happy for them, but that didn't mean she would approve of Clyde spending the night here now that she knew of the change in their relationship.

"A couple of months."

"And are you being careful?"

Luke wished the ground would open up, right there and then, and swallow him up. Or an alien attack. Anything but this conversation. He was grateful that she had taken it so well but it hadn't occurred to him that she would want to have this talk with him too. He was seventeen, for goodness sake.

"We haven't exactly got to that stage yet," he muttered, keeping his gaze fixed on a spot on the wall at the opposite side of the room so that he wouldn't have to meet her gaze. He could feel his face heating up; he used to think that nothing could embarrass him, but he hadn't reckoned on a rather late birds-and-the-bees talk from his mother.

Luckily, she decided to give him a break after that. "You know that I'm only looking out for you, don't you?" she asked. "I'm glad that you felt you were able to talk to me about this. Now," she said, her tone signalling the change in topic. "What would you like for tea?"

"You're the best, mum." Luke smiled and gave her a hug. "Thanks."

X~x~x~x~x

End- for now


	3. A date with disaster?

Note- In my mind, both of the characters are 17, almost 18, at this point. This chapter contains sexual content.

* * *

A Date with Disaster?

Clyde frowned, puzzled, as Luke pulled out his chair for him at the restaurant and waited for him to sit. As if opening every door for him wasn't odd enough. He had just put it down to 'Luke doing something strange', but now…

_(Six hours earlier…)_

Luke picked up the t-shirt from his dorm room floor and carefully folded it, putting it into the drawer with the others. He'd already dusted the shelves and made sure that this bed had clean covers. Looking around, he nodded to himself, satisfied that the floor was tidy before starting on the papers and books stacked around his laptop on the desk.

"Hey, Lukey-boy. You expecting a visit from your mum or something?"

Luke turned, casting a confused look at Raj, who wandered into the room without bothering to knock. He'd met Raj when he first arrived at the University, the older boy having the dorm room next door, and so he was used to his friend's lack of regard for personal privacy.

"No. Why?"

"Because you're sprucing this place up like… Wait a minute, if not your mum, then are you expecting someone else?" Raj grinned at him. "You are, aren't you?"

Luke smiled. "Yes."

"Is it that lass, Rani? Way to go, Luke!" Raj congratulated.

"It's not Rani. She's my friend, that's all," Luke told him. He paused for a moment, putting down the duster he was cleaning his desk with. "Raj, what do people do on dates?"

His friend just stared at him in disbelief until Luke realised his bad choice of words and backtracked quickly.

"No! I meant what do they do here? I wanted to do something nice but I haven't really had much experience with this kind of thing," he admitted.

Raj sat down on the bed. "Well, you could go for a meal. There are some good restaurants nearby, or you could go and see a film."

Luke considered it for a moment. He and Clyde went to see films all the time so that wouldn't be anything different but a meal would be pleasant; that was what people did on dates, or at least the people in the TV shows he watched. As it turned out, Raj was very helpful, offering him advice without laughing at him as he knew some of the others would have had he asked them about this. Ten minutes later, Raj glanced at his watch and cursed.

"I'm meant to be meeting the lads to get set up for the party," he said, jumping to his feet and hurrying toward the door. "Why don't you come along? Bring your date."

Luke just smiled politely. He never attended the parties that were held in the dorms, always hating being at least a year younger than everyone else. His age didn't bother him when he was studying, but socially, he felt like an outsider. Besides his age, there were other things that he just couldn't relate to them about. The others were always talking about things they'd done and places they'd visited but what could he offer? He'd never had a childhood or holidays to exciting places to talk about. And the places he had seen? He could never tell them about that, even if he thought they would believe him.

"Maybe," he said. He could tell that Raj didn't believe him.

~.~.~.~

Two hours later, Luke stood on the platform at the station. He waved to Clyde as the other young man got off the train, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. It had been a couple of months since he'd been home and he'd missed Clyde.

"Luke!" Clyde elbowed his way through the crowd and stopped just short of hugging Luke, switching to a clap to the shoulder instead at the last minute. "So, how did your exams go?" He laughed. "I know, I know; daft question. Of course, you've aced them all."

"I hope so. How's school?"

It was only a short walk to the University campus, making small talk, catching up on the gossip Luke had missed about people back home. As soon as he closed the dorm room door, however, Clyde dropped his bag on the ground and reached for Luke, pulling him into his arms.

"Now how about a proper hello?" he said, leaning in to brush a soft kiss over Luke's lips.

At the touch, Luke smiled, slipping his arms around Clyde's waist.

"Yes please."

Clyde moved in again, feeling Luke press closer to him as the other boy's lips parted under his. He loved how eager Luke was, how he responded to every touch, how he looked at Clyde as though he were the best thing to ever happen to him. No one had ever looked at him like that before, not with Luke's honesty in their gaze, and it made him feel a hundred feet tall. Had the concept not scared the daylights out of him, he might even have said that he loved Luke.

The kiss deepened, tongues tussling as Luke's fingers strayed lower, under the edge of Clyde's t-shirt. He felt warm hands on the skin at the small of his back, slowly around to his sides. Gentle fingers traced over Clyde's ribs, making Clyde fidget.

Luke pulled back and looked at him innocently. "Oh dear, I forgot that you were ticklish there."

Sure he did, Clyde thought, seeing the gleam in Luke's eyes. Luke had a photographic memory; he didn't forget anything. He squirmed again as Luke's fingers tickled his ribs.

"Stop that!"

Luke chuckled, showing no intention of doing so. Clyde dipped his head to close his lips over the pulse point on Luke's neck, and the laughter stopped, cut short by a low groan. Luke's weak point, Clyde thought. It could distract him from anything.

~.~.~.~

"So, why did you ask me to bring a shirt?" Clyde asked a short while later as he unpacked the duffel bag. He pulled out a dark red shirt and eyed it suspiciously. "What's wrong with my t-shirts?"

Luke smiled. "I thought we could go somewhere special for dinner," he said, before admitting, "And you look nice when you dress up a bit."

~.~.~.~

Luke led him on the short walk into the city centre until the reached a small Italian restaurant, set back from the street. Clyde was suddenly glad that Luke had made him neaten up- he would have looked distinctly out of place here in a t-shirt. Even better, he thought, Luke was wearing the blue shirt that Sarah Jane had bought him for his birthday. Clyde liked that one. Luke looked great in it; it brought out the colour of his eyes.

At the entrance, Luke stepped in front of him and pulled the door open, waiting for him to go inside before following, doing the same with the second set of doors a few paces later.

"I can open a door for myself," he pointed out.

Luke just smiled. "I know."

When they were shown to a table, Luke pulled out a chair and smiled at Clyde, much to the young waitress's amusement. Okay, he was being weird again. Not that it was much of a shock when Luke did something odd, he thought as he sat, humouring him.

"I'll give you a few minutes to decide," the waitress told them. "I'm afraid that I will need to see some identification if you want to order any alcoholic drinks, though."

She handed the both menus and left them alone.

"Okay, what gives?" Clyde asked. "What was with the chair thing? And the doors?"

Luke frowned, looking genuinely confused. "Raj said that it was customary to pull out your date's chair and open doors for them." He looked down at the table, embarrassed. "I made another social faux pas, didn't I?"

"First off, I have no idea what that means, and second, you do open doors and stuff for but it's usually a bloke doing that for a girl."

"Oh."

Clyde smiled. "How is it that in that with that infinite wisdom they filled your head with, things like this still baffle you?"

Luke just looked down at the table, refusing to meet Clyde's gaze. "I just wanted us to have a date; I wanted this to be special. I'm sorry that I made a mess of it."

Clyde put his menu down, seeing the dejected expression on Luke's face, almost wishing he'd never said anything.

"You didn't," he reassured. "It was a lovely idea. Thank you."

Luke studied him for a moment, as though assessing whether or not he meant it, and then a smile lit his features.

~.~.~.~

They walked back toward the university, full from a nice meal and enjoying the peace and quiet. Luke had reached out to take his hand as they walked. Once, Clyde would have pulled away, the gesture too overt for his comfort, especially outside, but he found that he liked it. If anyone else had an issue with it, then it was their problem, he thought, threading his fingers through Luke's.

"Have you been to that restaurant before?" Clyde asked. "The food was really good."

Luke shook his head. "Raj suggested it; he said it would be appropriate for a date."

Clyde smiled. Suddenly things were starting to make sense. Luke was a genius, able to wire a mobile phone into spaceship's computer, or work out alien chemistry; the intellectual, he understood, but people and human activities still confused him sometimes. And what Luke didn't understand, he asked about, usually at random or inappropriate times.

"So you said you wanted to do something special," Clyde prompted. When Luke blushed slightly, he smiled. "Any particular reason?"

Before he could reply, however, they heard a voice called out Luke's name. Looking up, Clyde saw four young men a year or two older than them, approaching. A tall Asian youth was at the head of the group and he smiled at Luke.

"So, how did it go?"

Luke nodded. "It was very nice, thank you."

Clyde almost laughed at the look on the group's faces as they looked between the two of them and saw their linked hands, confused for a moment before they put two and two together.

"You must be Raj," he said, letting go of Luke and holding his hand out. "I've heard a lot about you."

Raj nodded, shaking it and glancing at Luke. Luke took the hint.

"Sorry. Raj, this is my boyfriend, Clyde." He quickly introduced the others as well before Clyde turned back to Raj.

"So, you're the one giving him dating advice," Clyde said. "I take it he forgot to mention that I'm not a girl, however?"

Raj nodded. "He didn't tell me you were a girl; I just assumed…" he frowned. "Why?"

"Well, you remember how you told him about opening doors and pulling out chairs…?"

This time, Raj smiled, seeing the amusement on Clyde's face and realising that he wasn't angry.

"Sorry about that." He indicated to the others. "Why don't you come to the party?" he asked them both. "We were just heading over there- you could come with us." He grinned, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "Unless you two have got more a interesting evening planned."

Luke looked puzzled for a moment before his eyes widened.

"Does he mean-?"

Clyde cut Luke off before he could finish, laughing. "Yes, Luke."

The rest of the group wandered away toward the sound of the music coming from one of the residential blocks. Clyde could hear them talking between themselves, occasionally glancing back to him and Luke.

"_I don't believe it; the kid's actually got a social life. Never seen him out, other than at the library."_

"_And a boyfriend! That, I wasn't expecting. I mean, you've see the girls around him, they love him."_

Luke must have heard too as he looked to Clyde and Raj in dismay.

"Were they talking about me?"

Raj nodded. "They're just curious. You don't socialise with us; you usually say you've got too much work to do or something. And you've never even mentioned having a boyfriend. You don't let people get to know you."

"That's because I always feel like an outsider," Luke told him. "I've heard them. I'm just the weird kid who got into University a year early."

Watching the others as they went into the doorway, a burst of music spilling out as they opened the door, Raj clapped his hands decisively.

"Right then, let's do something about that. Come to the party, both of you," he said. "The lads said to invite you, so they obviously want you there, and it will save you having to answer a million questions tomorrow when everyone starts asking you about Clyde."

"Come on, Luke. Just for a while," Clyde cajoled. "You got on great with everyone at school once you got to know them, right? And it's not like you were any less weird when you were there."

Luke glared at him, seeing Clyde and Raj trying to hide their grins. Had anyone but Clyde said that he would be offended but he was used to Clyde's teasing by now. And Clyde was right, he supposed. He hadn't changed since coming here.

"You know I don't mean it," Clyde told him, leaning in to brush a light kiss over his lips.

"I know."

Raj tapped his foot impatiently, though he was watching them with a smile on his face.

"As touching as this is, gents, we should get going before all the beer is gone."

~.~.~.~

At around one o'clock in the morning, Luke locked his dorm room door and collapsed onto the bed. Clyde dropped down beside him.

"See, that wasn't so bad," he said.

Luke shook his head. He'd had fun once everyone had stopped watching him but as Raj had pointed out it was a surprise to see him there.

"I like your mates, and it was nice to finally meet Raj. You talk about him a lot."

"Well I don't want to talk about him right now. This wasn't what I planned tonight, going to the party. I wanted us to have a proper date and a nice evening and then maybe when we got back here…"

"And then…?" Clyde asked as Luke paused.

"I thought that, maybe, if you wanted, we could allow our relationship to progress to the next step."

Clyde frowned. "Next step? Oh! You were trying to seduce me?" When Luke nodded, he continued. "You know, if you wanted to get into my pants all you had to do was ask. I was actually planning on asking you the same thing this weekend."

"You were?"

"Yes. But this is your show, so tell me what you want me to do, Luke."

Maybe it was the beer that Luke had drunk- people had offered him some and he was just being polite by accepting- but his usual nerves and concerns never kicked in.

"What I want is you. Naked," he told Clyde.

Clyde stood and grinned at him. "Yes, Sir," he said. "I love it when you get all bossy."

"Oh? Well in that case, strip and get back over here."

Clyde did as ordered, dumping his clothes in a heap on Luke's desk, on top of the text books, and went back to Luke. Luke pulled him down to sit on the edge of the bed before dropping to his knees between Clyde's. He looked up.

"Can I?"

Clyde nodded. They slept together each time they stayed either here or at each other's house if no one was home, and though they'd never gone beyond touching and kissing, he trusted Luke. He'd let Luke do anything he wanted. Seconds later, he sucked in a breath as he felt the warm wet touch of Luke's lips closing around the head of his cock. Luke took more of him in, tongue licking a long line up the underside on the upstroke.

A groan escaped his lips and Luke pulled back, looking up at him with worried eyes. "Was that wrong?"

"No! Don't stop, just do that again."

Luke smiled and repeated the action, adding a little suction this time. Clyde curled his fingers in Luke's hair, holding him there, making sure he didn't stop what he was doing. Looking down at Luke's pink lips stretched around his cock, that innocent face flushed, he met Luke's eyes as he glanced up. The look of adoration there was enough to push him over the edge.

"You need to stop… Luke!"

He tried to pull Luke away but he wouldn't move, gagging slightly as Clyde's come filled his throat. Still refusing to pull back, Luke got his reflexes under control, swallowing down every last drop before lifting off. He licked Clyde's cock clean before sitting back on his heels and smiling at Clyde.

"Did you like that?"

Clyde pulled him up onto the bed, thumb gently swiping away a bit of semen from the corner of his mouth.

"I think the fact I just came in your mouth answers that one," he pointed out, covering Luke's mouth in a kiss, unfastening his belt as he did so.

He managed to get Luke's jeans unfastened enough to get his hand inside, cupping it around Luke's arousal and giving him a light squeeze. Shoving Luke's jeans and underwear down so that Luke could kick them off completely, he let Luke manoeuvre them onto the bed and kiss him breathless.

A thought struck him. "We need some things. I don't suppose you..?"

"Middle drawer of the cabinet," Luke told him.

Clyde leaned over and sure enough, there was a tube of lubricant, condoms, pamphlets...

"Optimistic, aren't you?" he teased.

"When I talked to mum she said that she wanted me to be prepared for when you and I started having intercourse," Luke explained.

Clyde winced, sobering. "Rule number one: no mentioning Sarah Jane when we're naked and in bed. It's bad enough that she knows we're- Oh God, I'll never be able to look her in the face again."

Luke looked confused again. "Why? It's expected that two people in a relationship will engage in physical-"

Clyde stretched up to kiss him again, to stop him talking. Right now, he could think of more important things to do than talk. His body regained interest with each touch, each kiss, and he rolled over onto his stomach.

"Ready?" he asked, glancing back at Luke over his shoulder as he got his knees under him. "Please, Luke."

He felt the hesitant touch of one slicked-up finger teasing at his arse a few moments later and spread his knees wider, leaning on his elbows. Clyde let out the breath he had been holding as it pushed inside slowly, moving, before being joined by another. It was an odd sensation, somewhere between uncomfortable and nice and full, but then they were gone and he heard the tube lid click open again.

It burned at first, Luke's cock was bigger than his fingers, stretching him, filling him as Luke pressed inside. He bit his lip as Luke slid all the way into him and stopped, holding still, letting Clyde adjust to the new sensation.

"Okay?"

Clyde nodded. The burn had already faded away into something else entirely. "Do it."

Luke began to move, in and out, slowly, carefully, his fingers gripping Luke's hips. It was feeling good now, more than good, and the soft sounds that Luke made went straight to his cock. Reaching beneath himself, Clyde took his cock in hand, matching the pace Luke thrust into him with, faltering as Luke's next stroke into him touched on something that set Clyde's nerve endings alight.

"Oh God. There. Again, please, Luke."

Stoke after stroke, Luke touched on that place, sending all sensible thought from Clyde's mind, everything beyond the feel of Luke pounding into him and his hand on his own cock. He came for the second time that night, body tensing.

"Clyde, I can't…" Luke's movements grew increasingly erratic, breathing heavy, and then Clyde felt him tense, uttering Clyde's name as a rush of heat filled him. Luke's weight sagged against his back, pushing him down to the bed.

Clyde groaned as Luke slipped out of him, over his already sensitive skin.

"Are you okay?"

Looking up into Luke's worried, slightly flushed, face, Clyde smiled and pulled the young man into his arms.

"Never been better," he said, closing his eyes. Just for a second, he told himself, enjoying the feel of Luke's warm body curled up against him.

~.~.~.~

The following morning, Luke awoke to find himself half laid on top of Clyde, the sheets tangled around them, almost tying them together. He shifted, trying to untangle himself, but his moving about woke Clyde. He saw his lover's eyes open sleepily. Lover. A wide smile formed as he thought that word but he couldn't stop it. Clyde was his lover.

"'Morning."

Clyde grinned back, looking almost shy. "Morning."

Luke wasn't sure what to do now; the knowledge that had been imprinted on him didn't exactly cover proper etiquette for the morning after.

"I don't know what to say." The words came tumbling out before he could stop them and Clyde just looked at him for a moment before he laughed.

"Then how about you don't say anything, just kiss me instead?"

Luke smiled. "Now that I can do," he said.

~.~.~

End (for now).


End file.
